Healthy Living
Healthy Living
Drugs
If you are worried about your own drug taking or know someone who is abusing or misusing drugs it is good to know the facts so that you can help yourself or those that you are concerned about.
What do we mean by drugs?
What do we mean by drugs?
• illegal substances such as heroin, cocaine and cannabis
• misused household products such as gases, glues and aerosols
• medicinal drugs • alcohol and tobacco
Many drug users do not start using drugs with the intention of becoming addicted.
This is due to the fact that with many drugs containing substances that are addictive, people who use them casually in their spare time or who use them long term for medical conditions can then become dependent on needing to use them regularly.
Reasons why people start using drugs can include:
• to escape problems they may be having in other parts of their life
• peer pressure and fitting in with another group of people
• being curious about the effects of drugs
• used in the treatment of medical conditions
Illegal Drugs
If you start to use illegal drugs on a regular basis, or if you become dependent on them, it can affect your family and friends as well as having a serious impact on your own physical and mental wellbeing.
Illegal drugs are categorised into three classes based on the overall level of harm that they can do;
Class A drugs, such as cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and heroin are the most harmful and likely to be the most addictive.
Class B drugs, such as Speed, and
Class C drugs such as anabolic steroids, cannabis and tranquillisers are less harmful.
However, it needs to be noted that all the drugs in all three categories are harmful and are addictive.
Selling drugs is also illegal. If you are caught selling them other people, or carrying a small amount of drugs in your pocket, it’s likely that the police will get involved. If you’re found guilty of any of these offences, you may face a fine or time in custody, with Class A drugs carrying the most severe sentences.
Drug overdoses can be fatal. Illegal drugs are not the only drugs that you can die from as you can die instantly from misusing drugs that you can buy over the counter - this includes things like aerosols, glues and other solvents.
Drugs Misuse - there is not a common list of symptoms that you can use to tell if you or someone you know is misusing drugs. This is because drug use affects different people
in different ways depending on the type of drugs they are using. Although anxiety, tiredness and a change in sleeping habits can also be signs of drug use, they can also be caused by changes in your body, stress or other problems.
If you are worried about drug abuse and addiction, the Talk to FRANK helpline can help. FRANK runs a free helpline and a website that explains how different types of drugs can affect you.
You can get confidential advice by calling FREE on 0800 77 66 00 seven days a week.
Calling FRANK will not show up on your phone bill. You can also contact FRANK by emailing frank@talktofrank.com or by looking at www.talktofrank.com
Other useful information can be gained from: Drugscope
Parents Against Drug Abuse (PADA) - 08457 023867
